Chapter Six
Chapter Six: For Everything : In which our heroes see chaos reign as the Spring Fling goes horrifically awry and a Dark Coalition of opponents declare War on the Empire. What the bloody hell just happened?! One Our heroes mingle with the Hoi Poloi of The Empire following the defeat of the Sun Banishers by The Household Cavalry. McKendry Cak and Zoot use this opportunity to return some objects of interest to our heroes and to give them their invitations to the Spring Fling. Two A mad scramble goes on to restoreNellie’s job after an extended absence. She is ordered to speak regularly with her HR Rep, someone very familiar. Meanwhile, Gram tries to restore his relationship to Father Forthill who apparently has been speaking with Mr. Black about the unpleasant similarities to deceased members of the empire. He reveals the following information: *The members of Trouble Ahead didn’t all die at the same time as they have been lead to believe. The Motley was picked off bit by bit over the course of nearly 10 years (which may be why most of the Changelings of the Empire didn’t see the connection at first). *Mr. Black is very concerned they may do something rash with this knowledge and is going to do everything possible to stop them from “damaging themselves.” *Father Forthill is utterly convinced that Arcadia was Hell itself and that the Gentry were demons. By extension, Changelings are demonically empowered. Three Nellie starts modifying the wardrobe of the now-dead Deep Enders to make it clear to those who knew them that they are impersonating them, but still keep some of their own individualistic style. It is the hope of the Motley members that this will draw out the person who altered the scavenger hunt lists. She also has brunch with Astrid Glass who lets her know that The Spinner's Guild is watching her closely and hopes to evaluate her membership soon. Four Gram consults the Palantir about what will occur at the party and feels very weak. His brain is bombarded with images that include a homicidal Wes Price attacking Queen Edane with a revolver, a riotous mob attacking Forget, fire spreading along the ceiling, and unaware revelers dying by the score. His weakness after using the Palantir concerns him, and The Mirror makes another plea for him to destroy the “damned device.” Our heroes make an effort to dynamite the artifact, only to find it nearly impervious to harm. They resolve to bury it in the backyard. Five Oliver, Perth, and Percy go exploring the Hedge to find a well-organized unit of Privateers marching through the Hedge. Observing their chatter, they all sound Americans and are comparing American Football teams known as The “Giants” and the “Jets”. Stopping by the Eccentric Club later, they find that members of Blackstreet Manor have attacked and brutally beaten Daniel Wiresmith. Six Nellie and Perth visits the Baron Crayle to get more information about the Palantir and The Deep End. The following information is imparted: *A Plaintir can develop its own “personality”, but it is not a source of knowledge in and of itself. It acts as a “conduit” between two entities, allowing a mystic exchange of “psychic energy” including emotions and information. In the old days they were used for communication between the various freeholds of the Empire around the world, but . . . something . . . happened to most of them. *The Baron Crayle was the original mentor to Alice Wake of The Deep End. He seems highly depressed about what happened to her and insists that she is truly dead. He remarks that the whorls of fate have brought the Trouble Ahead members together and he wants our heroes to make it known that they are aware of their own situation. *He believes that the deaths of most members of the motley were engineered, but the only two that were clearly caused were Prince Martin who was murdered (presumably by Prince Eddie and Lord Vallum) and Alec Brink who was beheaded by Sir Beryl Whitehall. Seven Classes on campus are attended, and it is discovered that most of the campus has been invited to Queen Edane’s Spring Fling via leaflet. Dolly Butler, Susan Marshall, and Dalton Wycliffe are all planning on attending. Several efforts by the Motley and the Empire to dissuade hordes of Uni students prove fruitless. Gram sleeps with Susan again, just to see if he could. He can. Inspector Mayne is also seen on campus, searching for Gram and Oliver as the last people that were seen with Verona Coleman before she killed herself. Eight As they head into Forget, our heroes notice the massive crowd of Uni students is peppered with members of Blackstreet Manor. In addition, The Creature is sitting in a bus stop across the street reading a newspaper. Percy tries to warn McKendry who is outside but he doesn’t seem to notice the Creature at all. Nine The Motley makes their grand entrance to find a strangely cordial empire. Reactions and Interactions are listed below: *Constance George seems largely nonplussed by our heroes appearance, but Percy suspects she is hiding something. *Mitchell Hitchcock is flabbergasted and wants to know what they are trying to accomplish. He agrees to keep an eye out to see if anyone is reacting violently to their appearance. *Nellie lets the Barron Crayle see their outfits and he seems to struggle to contain his emotions. He asks to be excused and simply disappears. Apparently no one has ever seen him move, but he does seem to get around.… *Ben Ashmore vomits. *Astrid Glass thinks the styling is bold, but doesn’t seem to grasp the deeper meaning. *Mr. Black is furious and lets them know that they are trodding a dangerous path, particularly Perth who is basically dressed as a deposed member of the Royalty. *The Crone is vaguely amused and is drunk enough to tell them so.She doesn’t know who changed the lists, but she informs them that something is coming, though she can’t be more specific than that. She also reaffirms her contention (made way back in Chapter One) that Gram’s lost love is somewhere in London. *Several Summer Discontents make disparaging statements about King George and his leadership. Joshua Wolff passing in close proximity stops that talk very quickly. Ten The roof of Forget appears to be more debauched than the ground floor. The Royal Family of Spring is holding court, along with most of the other beautiful people of the empire. Moments of bacchanalia and intrigue included: *Beryl and Princess Maggie continue to fight. Beryl recognizes the outfits and pulls Gram aside. He threatens him away from her, making explicit reference to them Sharing Dreams. He appears not to know that Gram and Maggie have been there, done that. He also appears to be falling apart somewhat at the seams. *Queen Edane comforts Beryl about his fight. Atherton Wing, the Duke of Air, reveals that they were “old chums” when they were both members of The Posh. *Zoot has been doing brisk business, and most of the high-powered Imperials are risking clarity loss on some interesting little drugs she’s cooked up. *Wes Price arrives looking like he’s slept in a gutter for a week and starts knocking people out of the way to get to Edane. Mindful of his vision in the Palantir, Gram attempts to stop him from getting to her. Wes rants about how Edane put him up to offering the Illuminated Text for the Games of Fortune and how he wants what she promised him. McKendry Cak calls up some bouncers and they remove him from the roof. Eleven With the bouncers dealing with medicated Imperials and a fairly strung-out Wes Price, the hordes of Uni students are able to push their way in the front door and start enjoying the free booze and food. Dalton calls Nellie and tells her that he called Professor Palindrome who said he’d meet him there. Twelve The overcrowding at the club is causing raised tempers and chaotic situations. Nellie, Oliver, and Gram walk in on Professor Palindrome . . . educating . . . Dalton, confirming a long-held suspicion. A group of very drunk students sets fire to black curtains on one side of the room, but it somehow doesn’t seem to bother most of the guests. Thirteen Our heroes try and get the masses out of the building who slowly start realizing a great deal of the building is on fire, and attempt to escape into the Hedge only to discover it is even more chaotic. A tattered and broken 7 of Clubs is grabbed by Percy who wants to know what has occurred. The playing card lets him know that after untold centuries of never-ending conflict, the House of Cards has fallen to the forces of The Pan. Fourteen Panic has fully set in as members of Blackstreet Manor are trying to cut their way through the crowd. The Imperial soldiers present are disorganized and don’t mount a serious counter-offensive. The Royal Family of Spring appears to be paralyzed with indecision with Queen Edane in particular seems lost. The billowing smoke from the fire below makes it nearly impossible to fight. Fifteen Percy, Gram, and Oliver start fighting their way through The Hedge only to be met by The Ambassador who informs Percy that the “assembled hordes of the Dusk Court formally declare war on The Empire.” Percy attempts to fight the Ambassador, only to find he is a Vampire. Percy and Gram get out of the Hedge on the roof of Forget and try to keep it slammed shut. Perth fights off several Blackstreeters downstairs with the aid of members of the Second Regiment who arrived moments ago. Sixteen Nellie, Gram, and Percy defend the Queen as the Blackstreeters continued to attack. The Second Regiment brakes through the crowds to the roof where King George and The Empress confront the still-dazed Queen. Victoria declares an end to Spring and tells George that “We would have order in our Empire again.” Seventeen Our heroes accompany King George and Queen Edane back to the Clockwork Palace. The building is closed, but a rather haggard looking Man for All Seasons lets them in. Most of the Summer courtiers are present along with the luminaries of the other courts, including The Old Guard and The POSH. King George addresses the assembled hordes and declares war in the name of Victoria and the Court of Summer. When asked privately who we are at war with, George responds that we are at war “With everyone. For everything.” He manically asks Nellie if she was capturing his essence for his official paintings, despite Nellie not being a painter. Perth is under medical care for several stab-wounds endured during the battle. Eighteen George calls for the royalty to gather for a meeting which Nellie and her “bodyguards” must attend so she can capture the moment. On the way up to the Throne Room, our heroes witness Duke Mortimer, Dr. Glastig, McKendry Cak, and Sir Beryl Whitehall all gathering in a separate room just down the hall. Nineteen George doesn’t get much opposition in his war plans (simplified as “kill anything that moves”) as Queen Edane is still fairly catatonic, Princess Anne represents the Winter court, and Queen Mary is MIA. George sends his chronicler (Nellie) and her guards to retrieve the lost queen. Twenty Our heroes attempt to retrieve Queen Mary from The Cavern to discover fog pouring out of the Old Bailey. Oliver goes missing and Nellie, Gram, and Percy are all attacked by large slimy grey tentacles. They are dragged into the Cavern where many Autumn Courtiers were being absorbed into the slimy gray mass that comes from under the skirt of Maeve, Daughter of Mab. The World Famous London Daily Mirror For other articles see- London Daily Mirror ''Police Fiddle as Forgotten Forget Burns'' Outrage abounds as the Metropolitan Police Force and the City of London Police argue over who was in the wrong during this weekends horrific burning of trendy night-spot Forget. On the night of May 15th, a private party rumored to be held by the shadowy Imperial College secret society known as "The Empire" was crashed by hundreds of underage students. An overcrowding report was sent by neighbors in their posh Chelsea 'hood to the C.O.L.P.-ers who promptly ignored it, an alarmingly long standing tradition where the Getty Brooks owned club is concerned. When the M.P.D. arrived to question a suspect in an unrelated case, they clashed with a few C.O.L.P. officers, which nearly turned into a brawl when both sides called for reinforcements. In fact, when black smoke started to pour from the side of the building and a desperate rush of Uni students came stampeding out, the less-than-chummy cluster of police cruisers from the two forces was so massive that fire units were unable to make it past the nearest roundabout. MPD Inspector Percival Mayne could not be reached for comment, but fan-favorite COLP DI Gene Hunt spoke exclusively with the mirror when he said "Get your fucking recorder out of my face you stupid fucking wanker". Classy. (MORE SCANDAL ON PAGE 7) Questions... Questions that Need Some Form Of Written Response For other questions see- The Master Question List *Did Queen Edane really put Wes Price up to bidding the Illuminated Text? Why? What is her end game? *Why are all the enemies of the Empire attacking at once? Is there coordination between the various factions? Is the mysterious Dusk Court responsible? *Why is Mr. Black so concerned about the Trouble Ahead-Deep End connection? *What is George’s goal in the War? Does he have a death wish? *Who invited the Uni students to Forget? Why? *What are the details of Queen Edane and Sir Beryl Whitehall’s previous relationship? *What the hell is going on in Arcadia? How did The Pan capture Wonderland? *Why couldn't McKendry Cak see The Creature? *Who or What has the other Palantir? Why is The House so terrified of it? Category:Book One